


Take Me Home

by Xardogn



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Nyx is the best big bro, no beta i die on this bed alone, tags added as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-12 12:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xardogn/pseuds/Xardogn
Summary: The only two survivors of a terrible attack by daemons, Nyx Ulric and the young Prince Noctis are forced to figure out how to survive in the middle of enemy territory with no allies or help. But Nyx is a hero, and he'll be damned if he can't get both of them back home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello welcome to my tentative self-indulgent fic that I randomly started writing. I will probably wait until I have more of it actually written to post more, but this is here at least to see if anyone likes this idea.

This wasn’t the worst mission he could be on.

Nyx Ulric, one of the newer Kingsglaive recruits, was sat next to the Crown Prince himself, Noctis Lucis Caelum, who was in the middle of sulking because even though he got to go fishing in Tenebrae, his father wasn’t there. What he could only imagine was the prince’s nanny was on his other side, and the rest of the car was occupied by senior Crownsguard members-short of the Marshall himself.

He was wondering about who in their right mind was sending him on a detail that involved a member of the royal family himself, but with an almost amused look in the eye, King Regis had told him that Noct liked his presence. Nyx couldn’t argue with the king.

Still, he slid his eyes over to the boy. It seemed a shame that he had been so animated before and now was slowly winding down back into depression, but the knowledge that they were going to have to go back to the reality of the Crown City was not something Nyx envied. Besides, he was a pretty piss-poor replacement for his father.

It was an easy mission, yet he couldn’t help being restless. It could’ve been nerves, it could’ve been the prince was literally sitting next to him and falling asleep on his arm, and it was his job to make sure nothing happened, it could even be that he was barely out of full training and has had only a few skirmishes under a belt. Not counting Galahd.

But the other men were veteran Crownsguard, so maybe Drautos was right about the whole ‘it’s a good experience’ thing. Or they just wanted to get rid of him for a week.  He looked over again, the woman smiling at him and the nodding off prince gently as daylight slipped into night. It was a little embarrassing, really. Nyx really hoped this wasn’t going to be permanent or something. Libertus would never let him hear the end of being a babysitter.

Then again, he thought bitterly as there was a sudden explosion of movement and noise, a few giant swords burying themselves in front of the car as it crashed, he’d prefer a mission like that over this shit.

* * *

 

“The prince! Get the prince out of here!!” The frantic shouting was all Nyx could hear as his senses snapped back into working. He had instinctively thrown himself over the prince and his caretaker, both of whom were staring at him with pale faces. Nyx took another second to process the fact that the Crownsguard had shouted that AT him, and the land outside was smoking and ringing with the sound of daemon roars.

“Did you hear me, glaive?! Get the Prince out of here!!” The Crownsguard man continued, practically ripping the door open.

“Fuck, I got it, I got it!” Shaking the ringing out of his head, he grabbed the Prince and his caretaker’s arm, pulling them roughly out of the smoking car. Leaving no time for protests, he pushed both of them in front of him, looking briefly back at the situation. One of the Crownsguard was already dead-he could see the twisted body, and above him the looming body of a snake with six blades. What the fuck sort of daemon was that?! He wasn’t sure that anything less than the full power of the kings could take that thing down, and his paltry abilities didn’t care.

Besides, Nyx thought as he started shuffling the prince and the lady away from the battleground, he had a more important job to do. “Go, just go, both of you! Don’t look back!”

Despite the stricken look on the prince’s face, it worked well enough until he sensed something hurtling at them. Nyx drove himself entirely on instinct, lunging forward with the Prince tucked against his chest; it was only when he hit the ground painfully that he realized Noct’s caretaker had let go.

Looking back again, it was painfully clear why she did. Nyx couldn’t tell if it was a piece of metal or one of the giant swords, but it had impaled her, scattering blood everywhere as she desperately looked forward. He froze; all he could see was his sister, his little sister in the Nif attack again, covered in blood, ‘ _Nyx, help me!’_ but it was the Prince screaming out her name that snapped that thread.

“No, shit. Don’t look!” He grabbed the prince, holding his face to his chest. By the Astrals, if he couldn’t get that image out of his head, what would it do to a kid?? Nyx knew he had to move, get out of there or do something, but he could only focus on the woman’s bloodied lips forming a weak ‘run’. The battle was going badly; he wasn’t sure if any more of the Crownsguard were alive or not, and soon the creature would take off after him.

 _Run._ He had to run. Nyx felt the Prince sobbing and shaking against him as he lifted and tightened his grip. “Just hold on tight, okay? I’m gonna get you out of here. Just hold on and don’t look!!”

And he did the only thing he could.

* * *

 

Nyx had run, holding onto the prince with a death grip that didn’t let up even when he saw the tell-tale blue glow of a haven. He couldn’t hear the sounds of battle anymore; it was almost deathly quiet except for the prince’s quiet breathing and his own harsh pants.

He stumbled up onto the haven, nearly collapsing onto the rocks. He finally let go of the prince, who didn’t move very far, just sat next to him on the gently glowing rocks. Nyx chanced a glance over to the kid, but he seemed physically fine. The tear tracks down his face said otherwise about his mental state. Nyx didn’t know how much of that attack he actually saw, but he really hoped it was nothing.

“We should…be safe here for the night at least,” Nyx said, trying to at least sound comforting. The prince didn’t give him much indication that he heard the glaive, just curling up into his knees tighter. He decided to take this time to assess himself, before things got worse. The Prince’s caretaker and his own quick reaction had let the two of them get out of the fray relatively unscathed, but both of them had scrapes from the forest escapade. Nyx’s kingsglaive uniform was dirty and singed in some places, but everything else seemed serviceable. Somehow, the two of them had gotten out of that alive.

The problem was what to do now.

Nyx couldn’t go back to the car, even when dawn came; it would most likely be swarming with authorities, if not straight up imperials. He also couldn’t risk the prince, or leave him alone; he was the only one left to protect him.

It had started sinking in a little at that moment. It was only him. Only him, the 9 year old prince, and no backup or communication with the Crown. His comm was dead and he didn’t have a phone on him. It wouldn’t even reach Insomnia from here anyway. Nyx was stuck in the middle of fucking Niff territory with the one person they wanted more than ever to kill.

Just fucking great.

He stretched his legs, finally sitting up straighter and looking over at the prince. He’d been silent for most of the attack, but Nyx kind of wanted some sort of response. “Hey, Prince. I know all this is scary, but the two of us are going to get out of this. I promise.”

Finally, he got the prince to look up at him, his mournful blue eyes nearly piercing through his skin. “We’re safe here for the night, but we’re gonna have to find a way to get back home in the morning. You understand?”

The prince slowly blinked a couple times before answering in a raspy voice. “Where is everyone else?”

Nyx closed his eyes, trying to take a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Where are they? We’re supposed to be going back home!” The prince was starting to get a little more worked up, and it seemed to drain Nyx of what little energy he had left.

“Sorry, prince, but they ain’t coming. I don’t know how else to say it. All of them told me I had to get you somewhere safe,” he said, a poor excuse. He was pretty sure the kid wouldn’t buy it.

“But they…they’re supposed to be always with me! Dad said I wasn’t supposed to leave-“ The prince choked on his tears, and Nyx instinctively pulled the kid back close, like a hug was going to help either of them. Noctis just buried his face into his kingsglaive jacket, holding on like Nyx was the only thing left in the world.

At this point, all they had was each other, and it was up to him to be the strong one. It was his job, Nyx thought grimly, reaching a hand up to pat the little kid on the back. But this was also a scared, traumatized kid and even if he wasn’t kingsglaive, and Noctis wasn’t the prince, he’d still probably do the same thing. But he was the prince, and they were going to be in a lot of danger.

“I know all you got left is me, but I promise I’m not gonna leave you until we’re both home safe. My buddy is always telling me I’m gonna end up being a hero with my theatrics anyway,” Nyx said, feeling the prince shudder beneath him a little.

It took him a bit less time than Nyx thought to finally stop crying, but he needed to confirm the prince understood. “You got that? I’m gonna do my dam-best to get us both out of here.”

The prince’s blue eyes stared up at him again, blinking away moisture before nodding slowly. Nyx tried his best to smile, but honestly it was pretty hard. Hopefully Noctis wouldn’t blame him.

“I know a lot of horrible shit’s happened, but we got to at least try to rest a little. Okay? You can cry as much as you need to.” Noctis was just a little kid; having to deal with everyone dead like this wasn’t going to be easy for him.

The prince just nodded again without saying anything, curling up against the rock Nyx was leaning on. He paused for a minute, looking over at him before sitting up and unbuttoning his jacket. The kingsglaive uniform had to be useful somehow. Nyx draped the heavy fabric over both of them in a makeshift blanket, tugging the prince so he was leaning on the glaive rather than the rocks. He was gonna have to deal with an aching back in the morning, but it was a hell of a lot better than any other option.

“That good?” He said softly. The prince didn’t answer but snuggled closer, so Nyx just gave a mental shrug and stared into the trees all around them. He knew he should stay awake to watch for any Niffs or daemons but as the night grew longer and Noctis slept quietly, it was harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open. Soon they both slipped away into sleep as the night grew deeper.


	2. Chapter 2

Nyx wasn’t surprised he was the one to wake up first. The prince was known for his napping skills and besides, he’d just barely escaped a massacre with his life. He watched the sun rise for a little bit longer before trying to peel himself away from under the coat to assess their situation.

He didn’t know where they were, nor did he have a map. Most of their supplies had been in the car and Nyx was loath to go back there. That was just putting him and the prince closer to Niffs than he cared to do, and if they made it to civilization, maybe they wouldn’t have to worry about daemons.

Right now though he needed water. Nyx’ mouth was dry and Noctis had been crying a lot. There was probably a stream of running water around here somewhere which would be the safest option, but he didn’t know about food. He didn’t have anything on him and frankly he didn’t know enough about the local wildlife to know what was safe. He could possible hunt down a monster so they could eat it but…..they should really find civilization first.

As he predicted, his back was protesting the rock bed, but he ignored that in favor of checking his pockets. The one good thing was he still had his knives and a couple potions, but no food. Nyx tried to recall the road they had travelled down while trying to get to Insomnia. It was one of those uncommonly used side roads that the Crownsguard liked, but as he recalled, they crossed over some train tracks. And if there were train tracks, there could be a station.

Or he could commit a few crimes, but with the prince in tow he wasn’t really concerned about the law. That was probably the best and only plan he could come up with, but the biggest issue was getting the prince to understand all of this and come along. He was a pretty smart child, but it was a lot at once.

However, Nyx was a bleeding heart and let Noctis sleep a little bit longer before nudging the kid with his foot. “Hey. Wake up, Prince.”

Like predicted, he didn’t want to wake up, and instead curled up further. The glaive was almost impressed with how Noctis could do that on a rock, but they really needed to get moving. “Hey. You wanna find something to eat? Sleeping isn’t going to solve that problem.”

The train tracks were probably their best bet, and Nyx kept poking at His Royal Sleepiness until he finally blinked his eyes open. “I don’t want to…”

“Yeah, well I’m not going to let us just sleep in the middle of an empty haven. Come on, Prince. There’s a train station near here and it will probably at least give us water,” Nyx said, already thinking ahead to just how to acquire said things. Crown City money was a no go, and with a little prince in tow, it wasn’t like he could take on odd jobs in the middle of the empire either.

He pulled up on Noctis’ arm and the kid finally got up. “Listen, I know a lot has happened, but we got to keep moving. If we don’t, then the bad guys will catch us and we won’t be able to get home.”

“I know…” Noctis mumbled, drawing his hands close to his sides. Nyx picked up his jacket, dusting it off from its use as a makeshift blanket. In an ideal world both of them would be able to use it in the quickly cooling clime, but for now the glaive just dropped it on the prince’s shoulders.

“A little big on you, but you laying all over me made me too warm last night,” Nyx lied easily, straightening his arms out in front of him.

Noctis just looked at him incredulously, but thankfully didn’t protest the jacket that was now his cape. It seemed he was going to have to deal with the prince being less energetic and talkative than usual but it would have to do. They needed to move.

“Train station first. Then we can plan our next move.” Nyx sure hoped he sounded more confident than he was inside, because he had absolutely no idea if this was a good idea or not. He had to make Noctis believe it was, though, and held onto the kid’s hand as they started a lonely trek through the woods.

The walk was quiet, and in some ways Nyx was thankful of that. The problem was the prince made very little conversation, not even telling the glaive when he cut his arm on a protruding tree branch. The kid had been through some horrible stuff, and it was only by keeping a purpose and moving along that Nyx didn’t break down himself.

It wasn’t until the hunger and thirst started getting noticeably bad that he finally spotted the low overhang of a building and still burning lights. His breath picked up; he glanced down to Noctis, who was practically dead on his feet. “Hey, look we made it! There’s a train station up ahead and we’ll be able to get some help.”

Noctis finally looked up, emotion on his face for the first time, before glancing down again at his feet. Yeah, he felt that uncertainty too, but they had a much better chance of survival with other people around as opposed to daemon-infested wilderness. Noctis was getting tired, anyway.

Nyx stopped when they were finally within sight of the station, crouching down in the brush as his training took over. Noct just slumped at his side, tired blue eyes staring at anything that moved. The place ahead had overhanging lights and the remnants of power poles above several rather run-down buildings.

There were more people there than Nyx was expecting, too. A lot of them seemed down on their luck, faces and clothes dusty and threadbare, gathered in the flat square of the station. He thought he saw the flash of a uniform and sucked in a breath.

They would most likely die if he didn’t get himself and the prince some real food, water, and shelter, and this was likely the only place for miles. It just happened to be a bunch of what seemed like refugees being gathered by Niff agents. Maybe it was part of a relief program? He wasn’t sure they were that kind.

He had a decision to make, so he sat himself down as small as possible, trying to look Noctis in the eye. Taking one glance at him, he knew he couldn’t pass the station on by, and stealing in their state would be suicide. “Okay, so here’s the plan. You know how we’re in the middle of imperial territory, right? They’re the bad guys. Guys who want to kill you and your dad, I won’t lie about that.”

Noctis slowly nodded, almost as if he knew this already. His eyes only got a little wider from the revelation, and finally, he spoke. “Uncle Cor says they do scary things.”

Uncle Cor; that was cute. He’d have to remember that for when things weren’t so dire. “Yeah, the Marshall is right. Right now, we’re in the middle of their territory and so we need to pretend we are not who we actually are.”

Nyx paused to see if the prince really got the gravity of this situation, but it was hard to tell with the kid not being too expressive. Still, he nodded, his small fists clenching a bit tighter. “I don’t know how much pretend you’ve ever played before, but we got to do it so well we fool the Niffs and make them look really stupid. So no saying you’re the Prince. That’s a secret for right now.”

Noct was watching him, drinking in the words, a bit more alert now that he could sit on the ground. “We can do it like this. I’m from Galahd, and I’m a refugee. You’re my little brother, and I’m taking care of you. You can still call me Nyx, but we got to think of something for you. A fake identity.”

“So we’re…like spies?” Noct asked quietly.

Nyx grinned. “Exactly. We’re spies trying to stay alive until we get home to your dad. He’ll think it was pretty awesome. Let’s say…maybe Nero. Or Nova. What do you think?”

Now that he had something to think about other than the daemon attack, Noct started looking a little more lively. “I like Nova.”

“Okay. So that’s your name right now. Anyone asks, that’s what you’re called. Noctis is only for people we know and trust, okay? So we’re brothers, refugees from the war, have no home, and you’re called Nova. You got it?” Nyx said, looking at the prince solemnly as he could.

Noct nodded, harder this time. “If that’s how-we get home.”

“Don’t worry. I’m really good at what I do. And I’ll be with you the entire way, kid.” Nyx said, jabbing a thumb at his chest. _I’ll be with you the entire way, he told his sister as they were running from the smoke and the flames-_ He snapped out of it. This was the last place for weakness.

“But…we got to get rid of anything that makes us look the part. That means the jacket, and those buttons on yours,” Nyx said, pointing at the small metal objects with the royal Lucian crest on it. That was more of a dead giveaway than his own Kingsglaive uniform, since only the royal family and their closest attendents were allowed to wear that symbol.

Noct looked sad at the prospect of losing them, but he just watched as Nyx reached over, pulling them out of the fabric and leaving strings behind. He gave the kid another once over, but other than the color, his outfit looked pretty normal for a kid his age. Nothing would give them away. His own uniform, on the other hand, presented more of a problem. He still had a potion in his pockets and his two knives, but the jacket had to go. Noct was still wearing it like a cape, but he peeled it off and dumped it with the discarded buttons, leaving them both exposed to the elements.

After a little more deliberation he decided to keep the rest of it, and tell anyone who asked he stole the shoes and pants off of a dead soldier. It was a reasonable lie, and they weren’t as immediately recognizable. Carefully hiding the two knives in his boots, he picked up the discarded clothing to hide them. Telling Noct to not move, _don’t worry, they were going soon,_ Nyx traipsed a short way down a hill, finding a crack in the ground between a rock and the soil. He quickly stuffed all of the cloth in as deep as he could, wiping away any signs that the area had been tampered with. Quick and dirty (ha), but it would have to do. Did anyone even know there were survivors of the attack?

He could feel the dryness in his throat, and knew that both of them were at their limits. Climbing silently up to where Noct was still shivering and waiting for him, he took the boy by the hand and walked towards the train station. This might be a bad solution, or not one at all, but they had little choice. All Nyx could do was hope and pray that his skills would be enough, and the gods kind enough to not shove any more shit into their faces.

* * *

 

By the time the news that the Prince’s caravan had lost contact reached the king, the entire Citadel was in an uproar. Despite his Shield’s every urging, it was nearly impossible to get King Regis to focus on anything else other than the investigation, only forcing him to bed after collapsing in the hallway. Cor knew it had barely been a day or two, but _Gods-it’s-it’s a daemon!!_ had been the last transmission sent to their waystation before it was completely cut off.

It was almost horrifying to see Regis, the immovable king of Lucis, suddenly brought to heel by a single incident, but he wasn’t a father. Cor wouldn’t know. His duty came first of all, and his personal feelings on the matter couldn’t get in the way of protecting the crown.

That’s what he liked to tell himself when he had to look at young Ignis Scientia and tell him his charge was missing. The child had been nigh inconsolable as well, clinging to a stuffed coeurl plush that Cor had never seen him with before. He didn’t know what to say. He had to be the realistic one here, as Clarus was a parent and likely not thinking with a straight head either. He had to be the one holding it all together.

“Drautos, I need everything you know. The Crownsguard I approved, were they the only people on the escort?” Cor asked. The man across from him, Titus Drautos, leader of the Kingsglaive, showed no signs of emotions either.

“There was a single car, and not including the prince, there was a total escort of four. The three veteran Crownsguard you obviously know, and his Highness’s caretaker,” Drautos said, his fingers tapping at the official paperwork.

“I’ll most likely need to identify the bodies,” Cor acknowledged, taking it up and turning out of the room with curt nod. “The Citadel is yours.”

Walking out to where his own car was waiting, he handed the paper to Dustin. “I need you to double check this is correct, and forward any new information you find. I need their projected route and information on the surrounding area. Ask his majesty about it if you have to. Monica, you’re with me.”

With two quiet, ‘yes sir’s, the three of them split off their respective ways. As the two of them got into the car, checking the stock of supplies one last time, Cor let out a deep sigh. Until he got there the only thing anyone could do was pray. He wasn’t much for that, but even he was powerless to a daemon attack across the sea. Cor should have never approved the trip, no matter how much the prince had begged him.

All they could do now was wait, and hope that a miracle had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that not much happens here, but i really needed to get the story flowing in my brain again and it finally started to cooperate.   
> Also lets pretend that I know about how to infiltrate and hide things from people, as a trained special ops military personnel.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gay and sad but i have the power of fuck timelines this is an AU now. Sorry regis you've adopted another kid now


End file.
